NEWS
Follow UsThere has been a fortune exchange between New Zealand and Pakistan in the latter half of the 2023 ODI World Cup. The BlackCaps have now lost four games after a winning streak of four games at the beginning of the tournament, and Pakistan are on the ascend with two consecutive wins after a slew of losses.
Both teams are on eight points and require a few results to go in their favour to confirm their semifinal berth.
Speaking to the press after his team’s loss against Pakistan in Bengaluru on October 4, skipper Kane Williamson wants his team to follow the same approach they have been following in the tournament so far and just focus on winning their last league game against Sri Lanka on November 9 (Thursday).
“Yeah, I mean, I think the approach will be very similar. We can't rely on other teams obviously as you get down to some small, small margins of whether it's run rate or your last match," Williamson said in the post-match press conference.
"You know, anything can happen really, but our focus is very much still on the cricket that we want to keep playing and adjusting to what's in front of us. And we've done that in really positive ways and also being challenged at certain times which you fully expect in these sorts of competitions. So, we can't control what other people are doing but we can really focus on our next game and preparing well for that.” he said.
Despite a demoralising loss in the clash against Pakistan, Williamson was upbeat about his team's chances after putting on a top batting show in the clash against Pakistan.
“Yeah, I mean, the first half was, I thought, a great effort. A lot of really good partnerships. Guys understood that the surface was good, perhaps better than it appeared, and we were able to get a really competitive total - so we thought," Williamson reflected on the batting display.
"And look, the guys in the second half tried hard. It was tough, the weather perhaps didn't help, but we can't take anything away from the tasks that Pakistan had to try and achieve and they came out and played beautifully well."
Known for his sporting spirit, Williamson also praised Fakhar Zaman, after the southpaw's scintillating 81-ball 126, an innings where he smacked 11 sixes, and took the game away from the BlackCaps. Zaman, notably, also has had a great record (four centuries on the trot) against New Zealand in the format.
"And obviously [Fakhar] Zaman, when he's going, not many grounds are big enough, but certainly this one wasn't. And he just hit it to all parts. So, you know, credit to the way Pakistan came out and achieved what they did today. And for us, it's taking the good bits and the lessons as well and moving on to our next challenge.”
“Yeah, he (Zaman) swung seriously hard and he hit everything out of the middle of his bat and it went miles basically and he's a very aggressive, dynamic player and you mentioned he's been very successful against us on a number of occasions. Today was probably one of his finest efforts. We know how dangerous he is and we knew that that would be a big wicket because he certainly won't die wondering and yeah, he played a special knock that ultimately got them across the line tonight.”
Williamson returned for the first time since breaking his thumb in the clash against Bangladesh earlier in the campaign in Chennai. The BlackCaps skipper was more than happy to bide his time in the middle, with a 95, where he looked confident with some pristine shots.
“I mean it's just nice to be back out there, to be honest. Like, obviously, playing the previous match and getting through that, with the focus being on my knee a little bit, and then to just break your thumb, which, yeah, a bit of a bummer, obviously. But, so just nice to be back out there with the team and playing. And yeah, I mean, to be honest, not really focusing on those things. It's just more about where we need to be as a team and what we need to try and do and the cricket that we need to play and a lot of good stuff.”
New Zealand will now face Sri Lanka in a must-win game, and that is all that Kane wants his team to focus on now.
“A lot of teams are playing really, really well. And so, it's important that we keep focusing on our cricket and the challenge we've got in a few days’ time against Sri Lanka.” Williamson said.
